What Researchers Did
Researchers conducted a prospective observational study with 90 patients suffering from severe peripheral arterial disease and chronic ulcers to investigate how hyperbaric oxygen therapy affected their platelet activity.
What They Found
The study found that patients receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy (20 sessions over 4 weeks at 2.0-2.5 ATA) experienced significant reductions in platelet aggregation pathways (ASPI β = -290.5, ADP β = -243.6, TRAP β = -330.9, all p < 0.001) compared to the control group, which showed no significant changes. Additionally, HBOT was associated with reduced pain intensity.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For Canadian patients with advanced peripheral arterial disease and chronic ulcers, these findings suggest that hyperbaric oxygen therapy could be a valuable add-on treatment. By reducing platelet reactivity, HBOT may help improve blood flow to ischaemic limbs and potentially aid in the healing of difficult-to-treat wounds.
Canadian Relevance
This study does not have Canadian authors or a Canadian study site. However, it covers a condition, chronic limb-threatening ischaemia with ulceration, for which hyperbaric oxygen therapy is often considered, similar to the Health Canada-recognised indication of diabetic foot ulcers.
Study Limitations
As an observational study, this research can only show an association between HBOT and platelet reactivity, not a direct cause-and-effect relationship, and may be influenced by unmeasured factors.